Step 3: Clues and Setbacks
Every mystery story can be boiled down to the following four steps.
1. A Puzzle Appears
2. A Curious Sleuth begins their quest
3. Sleuth discovers Clues and Setbacks
4. Sleuth reveals the Truth
This step of the mystery plot is the longest and most complex because it describes the entire investigation.
Types of Evidence
Evidence is any fact that can be proven. Not all evidence is indicative of a crime, and may be open to interpretation. The types of evidence listed here are only accessible to law enforcement.

Physical Evidence
- Blood
- Fingerprints
- Fibres
- Hair
- Footprints
- DNA evidence

Forensic Analysis
- Autopsy
- Poisons
- Drugs
- Alcohol levels
- Bullet matching
- Gun residue
- Ballistics analysis
- Soil and pollen samples
- Microscopic particles

Digital Evidence
- Phone calls
- Text messages
- Emails
- Social media posts
- Financial transactions
- Location data
- Photos
- Hidden files
- Wiretaps
While techniques like DNA matching make solving crimes very easy for law enforcement, it can make the investigation (and the story) somewhat boring.
In addition to evidence, your sleuth should find clues — important details that may or may not help identify the perpetrator. The uncertain nature of clues adds to the mystery by engaging the sleuth (and read) to connect the dots.
Types of Clues
Clues are hints. They point the sleuth in a certain direction, but clues by themselves are not proof.

Relational
Almost all mysteries will explore the relationships between the victim and others. Relationships are emotional, allowing for juicy gossip, rumors, and feelings to add biased opinions to the list of clues. That added uncertainty adds complexity to the sleuth’s investigation.
- Personal or romantic involvement
- Family ties
- Friendships
- Professional colleagues
- Business partners Employer/employee

Historical
- Past conflicts
- Legal disputes
- Public arguments
- Workplace incidents
- Shared history
- Past romantic involvements
- Family feuds
- Similar previous crimes

Chronological
- Activities before crime
- Alibis
- Surveillance footage

Observational
- Eyewitness accounts
- Earwitness reports Character references
- Suspect’s behavior changes
- Victim’s last words/actions

Environmental
- Significance of date and time
- Lighting conditions
- Location characteristics

Psychological
- Suspect’s actions before and after the crime
- Victim’s recent lifestyle changes
- Personality traits
- Criminal history
- Mental health factors
- Medication history
Clues and Misdirection
There are three categories of clues:
1. Some clues lead the sleuth toward the truth.
2. Some clues are ambiguous
3. Some clues send the sleuth down the wrong path
Correct Clues

Some clues lead the sleuth toward the truth
Clues that tie the criminal to the crime, should be initially hard to find.
Do you see the clue in the image opposite? Consider the beautiful table setting, with scrumptious food, wine glasses and luxurious chairs. Crystals, chandeliers, and golden candlesticks add to the rich atmosphere. There’s an obvious clue present. It’s bold and big and in plain sight. Squint your eyes and you’ll see the white word CLUE along the back walls of the room. Like magicians, writers use the technique of misdirection to make readers pay attention to one thing while describing another. Misdirection isn’t about withholding information or lying. It’s all about steering the reader’s attention away from the real clues. Writers can be sneaky while playing fair.Places to Hide Clues

Middle of a list
People tend to remember the first and last things on a list. A clue in the middle might appear very unimportant.

During action or high emotion
Readers tend to read these sections quickly. They’re not lot likely to dwell on the description of the bystander’s briefcase in the middle of a chase scene.

Before its significance is known
Sometimes, important details are laid out as plain as day, but readers deem them unimportant at the time. However, the observant sleuth usually remembers and brings up the relevant information at a later time.
Upon second reading of the story, readers will pick up the clues they missed the first time around.

Inside a long description
Readers often gloss over long descriptions of settings, people, or history. These are the perfect places to hide important clues.

During Casual Conversation
Characters speaking to each other in a very natural tone tends not to arouse suspicion.
2. Ambiguous Clues
Ambiguous clues are ones where it’s not clear what the clue means (e.g., a victim’s confusing last words). The sleuth needs to find more information to understand the clue.
Consider a murder victim who has a slip of paper in his pocket that reads:
315 Matthew
What does this mean? It could refer to a Bible verse, a street address, or an appointment reminder.
Ambiguous clues add complexity. The clue is important, but the sleuth doesn’t know what exactly to do with it. Consider having your sleuth misinterpret the clue at first (they’re human and make mistakes). Perhaps the incorrect interpretation has an initial payoff before hitting a brick wall. It’s not uncommon to see these abandoned clues reappear near the end of the story when the sleuth makes an important connection.
3. Red Herrings
Some clues send the sleuth down the wrong path.
These types of clues are called red herrings, inserted by the writer to complicate the investigation.
Tips for Red Herrings

Cast suspicion on innocent characters
Have an accused suspect plead their innocence, but in a way that the reader (and sleuth) doesn’t believe them.

Make the guilty character appear innocent
A clever criminal often creates an apparently airtight alibi that exonerates them.

Distraction
Create a distraction that is completely unrelated to the crime or the guilty character. The diversion pulls the sleuth’s (and the reader’s) attention away from what is really important.

Frame Someone
Sometimes, a clever criminal will leave “evidence” to frame someone else or to lead the sleuth to arrive at an incorrect conclusion.

Place Red Herring among True Clues
Place a juicy red herring next to a true clue. The sleuth might be very excited to pursue the false clue, taking her off on a wild goose chase, while the real clue remains unexamined.
Red herrings shouldn’t be placed too closely to each other in the story. We don’t want our sleuth to be facing setback after setback. A sense of progress is important to the reader.
Challenges when Interviewing Suspects
The sleuth’s investigation will require them to speak with the different suspects and witnesses. However, not every suspect will be honest and open.
Witeness lie. They might omit self-incriminating details, such as not wanting to implicate themselves for a lesser crime. Perhaps they’re covering for someone else.
The sleuth will need to assess the reliability of each witness. It’s not uncommon to re-interviewing suspects and witnesses to confirm or refute clues.

Describe the witness's body language
Describe subtle clues to indicate a (lack of) lying or stress.
Liars may fidget, avoid eye contact, touch their face.

Make Interviews non-repetitive
Your sleuth may need to interview many people. Vary the interviews. Place them in different locations and spread them out into different chapters. Sometimes a sleuth will need to ask the same questions to many witnesses. There may be times where it’s useful to summarize the outcome of the interview rather than dramatize them.

Add inconsistencies
In theory, most eyewitnesses will have similar accounts. Add small inconsistencies to show their different perspectives and biases. Repetitive interviews might be glossed over by impatient readers, making those interviews a great place to sneak in a hidden clue.
Break up a long investigation
The investigation is generally the longest part of any mystery story. There is a risk that it becomes mundane and repetitive. Here are some tips to add some variety and new energy into a mystery story.

Add a Surprise or a Twist
Don’t make the investigation a straight line from unknown to known. Add twists and turns. Many murder mysteries add a second murder (sometimes of the prime suspect) in the middle of the story.

Add Conflict
Raise the stakes. Perhaps the sleuth is becoming impatient with suspects. Perhaps they’re clashing with their sidekick, or there are jurisdictional issues among law enforcement.
Conflict naturally introduces uncertainty, adding more mystery about the outcome.

Deadline
An additional constraint on the investigation is added. Perhaps the FBI has come in and imposes a deadline to complete the investigation.

New Information
New information comes in that takes the investigation in a completely different direction. Perhaps an ambiguous clue has been reinterpreted or test results from the lab point to a new cause of death.

Character Development
Give your sleuth a life outside of the investigation. Perhaps they’re learning a new skill or trying something for the first time. A subplot that explores the inner life of your sleuth can give them a chance to appear more human.

New or Deepening Relationship
Over the course of their investigation, your sleuth will meet many people and there’s a possibility of a relationship forming between them. A romantic subplot gives added emotional depth to your main character.
Investigative Progress
Ideally, the sleuth wants to make constant and steady progress in their investigation, always getting closer to the truth. However, that makes for a boring read.
An engaging mystery needs to have a mix of progress and setbacks. Philosophically, the investigator seeks the truth, and in their quest sometimes moves toward falsehood.
Imagine there’s a score that measures how close the investigator is to the truth. That score should change in every scene.


- Follow a red herring
- Interviewee lies
- Discover a hole in theory/timeline
- Evidence contaminated
- Alibi rules out prime suspect
- Witness recants their statement
- Warrant request is denied
- Follow a true lead
- Interviewee is honest
- Theory/timeline checks out
- Evidence secured
- Uncover a lie or red herring
- Discover evidence was planted
- Find the murder weapon
- Find pattern between multiple crimes
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